Symphonic ensemble munich captivates Jeddah audience

Last Wednesday, the Symphonic Ensemble Munich, under the direction of Felix Mayer, entertained more than 200 guests with a challenging concert program of compositions by George Frederick Handel and arrangements by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the residence of the German Consul General in Jeddah, Rolf Theodor Schuster. “The ‘Desert Symphony’ concert was a unique success. I was highly impressed by the appreciation shown by Jeddawis toward classical music. They proved themselves to be true connoisseurs of the German symphonic legacy and didn’t mind the particularly cold spell of the evening in order to enjoy an enthralling musical performance by the Symphonic Ensemble Munich,” said German Cultural Attaché Christian Strob. The concert was originally planned to take place at the Italian Cultural Center; however, the venue changed only a few hours before the event. “We had to get the stage, lights, 200 chairs and the catering to this side of town. We also had to send out e-mails to over 600 people about the change of location. I hope nobody was angry with us that they were not informed. We tried our best,” German Consul General Schuster told Arab News. “It is just wonderful how everybody helped and worked overtime to make this work — from my staff at the consulate, the electricians from Al Basateen compound to the staff from the Radisson hotel. As for the concert, it was excellent, just perfect,” he added. After the show, Arab News spoke to Conductor Felix Mayer on what it takes to be a great conductor. We learned that it was not only his first visit to Saudi Arabia, but also to the Middle East, and he could not be more excited about being here. What made you decide to become a conductor? And did you always know you were going to be one? No, I didn’t. I started in a boys’ choir, so I made music ever since I was seven or eight years old. I learned to play the cello — that was my main instrument — and I sang a lot. One day in choir, the conductor was ill just before the concert, so somebody had to jump in, and that was me because I didn’t say no loud enough (laughs). After the concert, I really wanted to learn more about conducting and then I was offered to conduct an orchestra right away, and so it started. Do you play any other instruments, other than the cello? Well, I play a little bit of piano; as a conductor, you have to. However, the most important instrument in my youth was the cello. In your opinion, what is the conductor’s job and how important is his/her role? I think the conductor’s role is very important even though he/she is not the person making the music. To put it simply, the job of the conductor is to make the orchestra sound better than they would without him. He/she shouldn’t disturb and shouldn’t make them less good. So how do you see your role: inspiring the players? Conveying the vision of the composer? Or providing a varied interpretation? It’s certainly all three. You should inspire the musicians and you should be the person who knows the piece best. Even though the composer is dead, you have to try to figure out what was his vision. Of course, it would be best if the composer conducts the piece himself. What do you love most about conducting? I love that I have the possibility to get in touch with the greatest music. That’s the thing I love most. I am able to spend most of my day with Mozart, Handel and Beethoven — yes, they are dead, but they are my close friends (laughs) — and certainly with their music, and this I love most. What do you enjoy more: Conducting or playing? Well, it’s really different, but I have to say that I don’t want to do anything else except conducting. It’s the most interesting thing I can imagine. It’s really a complex task. Tell us more about the Symphonic Ensemble Munich. It’s an orchestra of passionate amateurs. We meet once a week, rehearse and prepare for three big concerts a year. They are normal people from Munich who love music and who either earn their living from real jobs or are still students. Of course, what you saw tonight is not the full orchestra — we were only 16, including myself. The full orchestra includes 70-80 people. Why did you choose compositions by Handel to conduct for this program? Well I can’t tell you exactly why I like Handel so much. I don’t only like Handel, I love many composers. I admire what Handel achieved in his life. He was really a busy man and was so full of ideas throughout his whole life until his death, and his music, to me, is pure beauty and entertainment. Just like I told in the concert, Handel wrote 12 Concerti Grossi in just one month. That’s enormous! He started end of September and finished end of October in 1739. It’s incredible; Handel was such a fast composer. And what about the arrangements by Mozart? Well, you can see with these arrangements by Mozart that he respected Handel every much because he only edited a few things. You still have Handel and you hear Handel but with some beautiful ideas by Mozart. So are they then better than the original? No, no I wouldn’t say this. They are different beauties. Have you ever experienced a situation in which you felt that you were unable to get the most out of an orchestra during a performance? And what did you do about it get the music to sound right? Every time! That’s the job of the conductor to be critical and to ask him/herself permanently what’s not OK. So you should always be discontent with what you get. After a performance, I’m usually not very happy because I think of what I could have done better or if I should have rehearsed more, something like that. You have to help with the gestures and be clearer. If they are too fast or too slow, I try to show the pulse more precisely. If I want to have it softer, I go down with my hands and tell them to play softer. Hence, there are a lot of ways to intervene; and if the orchestra follows, that’s wonderful. So what did you think of tonight’s performance? I’m very happy; that’s unusual for me. It was a long day for my orchestra and we had a long rehearsal day yesterday. We also didn’t have time to sleep or relax before the concert, so for them to keep their concentration for so long and then play at the concert was quite a task. In your opinion, what makes a great conductor? And what qualities are necessary to possess? Being able to convince the orchestra to follow your idea about a piece is very important. It doesn’t matter how you do that, with words or gestures or just by spirit, but I think this is an ability conductors should have or develop. As far as qualities in personality, you mustn’t be shy, but rather brave, because it’s not easy to stand in front of an orchestra and convince them. When I sang in choirs and orchestras, I watched a lot of conductors and with some, I sometimes thought to myself: “I could do better” or “What are they doing?” However, when you stand there at that point, it’s really totally different, and well, it’s not an easy job. What makes it much more complicated is that you can’t practice at home like a pianist or a violinist can. You just have the rehearsals and concert where you really can work with the people; you can’t do that home. So, it’s from standing in front of the orchestra that you learn; it’s not easy. Furthermore, you have to make your mistakes in front of many people. However, I’m not complaining! How do you string the series when you play a piece? Do you develop it in parts and then bring it all together? Or do you develop them in sequence in how it was originally composed? No, in the first rehearsal, I try to have a run through of the whole piece but after that, you pick out the most complicated structures and try to work on that. There are measures, which work well for the first time and there are measure where you have to really put your focus on and to work on them. How do you work with your team and how do you keep them inspired and encouraged? Well one way is not to rehearse too much. Use the time you have well, but don’t overdo it because they can get tired and bored by the music. You should avoid that very carefully. What exactly are the members of the orchestra looking for when they glance up from the music to watch you for a moment? I don’t know (laughs). I can’t tell you. I hope they look for inspiration. Certainty there is an interaction and I really love to look in their eyes, I really like that. Is it really difficult to become a conductor? Yes and no, but to become a good conductor, this is a task and it takes many years and you really have to make your experiences and this you can’t get as a young conductor so every year, every concert, every rehearsal, you learn a lot and year by year, I hope, you can improve. To conduct, the basics are not complicated but to improve, this is a long way. Education wise, how many years does it take? Well, there are a lot of conductors who never studied it at university. Certainly you can study it for four or five years, but you don’t learn the job in university. You learn it in front of the orchestra. What pieces do you like conducting most and why? Oh, there are a lot! I love pieces where a conductor is needed, such as Brahms’ symphonies. How do you choose which pieces you will conduct? There are two criteria: my personal taste and what ensemble I have to work with. I try to find pieces that would fit well with the ensemble, according to their special abilities. Any favorite composers? Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Wagner and Stravinsky, to name just a few. I like the diversity. It is joy to have so many different ideas; it makes the job very interesting because none of them is like the other. Mozart is different from Beethoven and different from Bach, so you get a lot of different ideas and emotions. What pieces would you like to conduct? Oh, there are so many! I would love to do all the Bruckner or Beethoven symphonies, for example. I would also like to conduct more opera, as I haven’t done opera very much. There are so many wishes that will not be fulfilled until the end of my days. What would be your advice to someone considering conducting as a career? Don’t forget you do this what you are doing because you love music and never forget that because there are many occasions where one could forget that and you never should. I never did, this I can say but this is important to say. Your next projects? The next big project for me will be to conduct the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, which is one of the best orchestras in the world. I will conduct Beethoven’s fifth symphony on Feb. 2, and I really look forward to that. Felix Mayer received his first musical training with the Stuttgarter Hymnus boychoir under the direction of Prof. Gerhard Wilhelm and performed as a cellist in various chamber music ensembles and orchestras. He studied in Tübingen, Munich and Vienna, and attended Masterclasses at the Vienna University of Music, the Vienna Musikseminar, and the International Bach Academy Stuttgart with such notable conductors as Prof. Mark Stringer (Vienna University of Music), Daniel Harding, Helmuth Rilling and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He toured many European countries as well as China, Israel, Japan, South Africa and South America. Since 2003, Mayer is the artistic director of the Symphonic Ensemble Munich and conducts the choir and orchestra of the Technical University Munich/Freising. He lectures musicological seminars on subjects like Wagner’s Ring-Cycle, Mozart’s operas or Richard Strauss at the Carl von Linde Academy Munich. Mayer is a recipient of several prizes in conducting and received the Karl Max von Bauernfeind medal for special merit from the Technical University Munich in 2009.